Page 65

The moment my fingers closed around the sigil stone, the floating platform beneath me cracked like glass, and I dropped onto the other platforms. Everything else started to fall away, revealing the forest again as sunrise began to loom over the glade.

Then came the sound—a guttural, bone-chilling growl that echoed through the trees.

The shadow beasts were back.

Hunter rushed toward me, and I stumbled forward, clutching onto the stone tightly as I leapt off the last crumbling platform. He managed to grab me by the waist in time and lowered me to the ground before Marnie came over, frantically trying to heal my cuts and bruises.

I shook her off, hearing another distant growl. “We need to get back before we get stuck here.” I glanced at Silas and Brandon. They didn’t hesitate as we all sprinted through the dense forest, some of the other competitors fighting to get back themselves.

Silas was ahead this time, his breathing labored but determined while Brandon kept pace beside him. Hunter stayed close to me, his spear drawn at the side, ready to fight off anyone and anything who tried attacking.

“Keep moving!” he yelled as one of the monsters lunged from the darkness, and Brandon turned to help Hunter fend it off.

Once struck, the creature dissolved into black mist, but another took its place, snarling as it chased after Marnie.

“Behind you!” I warned her, and she turned, her hands glowing faintly. She threw a burst of light at the beast, and it screeched, retreating into the shadows.

“We’re almost there!” Silas yelled, his voice strained as he pointed at a shimmering oval of light carved into the forest, separating the glade from the academy.

I could feel the creature’s presence pressing against our backs, urging me to run faster. But as I reached the portal, I hesitated.

My hands shook as I stared at the three sigil stones in my grip.

I’d won.

And yet, I felt nothing.

“Grace?” Marnie’s voice wavered with confusion as she stopped by me.

I looked at her as the boys paused and turned to us. “Marnie,” I said quietly. “You should be the one to take these.”

“What? No. Grace, you earned those. You—”

“You are the one who said it was your dream to ascend,” I cut her off. “You’ve wanted it your whole life. This is your chance.”

“Grace, no. I can’t—”

“You can,” I said firmly, pressing the stones into her hands.

She stared at me, stunned.

“You deserve this,” I whispered. “Take them.”

For a moment, she didn’t move. Then she nodded, her arms wrapping around me in one of her fierce embraces.

“Thank you,” she whispered, her voice breaking as my eyes stung.

I nodded as we broke apart and watched her step through the portal, clutching the sigils tightly. Brandon and Silas followed, both sparing me a brief glance before disappearing.

Hunter then came to my side as we shared one final look that tore through my heart.

I wanted to say many things but now was not the right time. So, with a smile, I stared up at him as we stepped through and emerged on the other side of what was the painting.

But straight away, something was wrong.

Something was very, very wrong.

As soon as everything refocused, blaring alarms echoed in the distance.

My blood froze.

More Ascendants came through the painting, all clattering onto the ground, panting and chests heaving before panic settled into them at the sounding alarms.

Around us, there was no one, no Joe, no Azrael, no Nadael, nothing but emptiness.

“Where is everyone?” Marnie stepped forward, but no one answered her.

I glanced at Hunter, then at Brandon and Silas, who gave Hunter a single nod.

Hunter’s fingers interlaced with mine as his eyes scanned the area. He told everyone to stay there but neither Brandon, Silas, nor I listened to him like the rest did.

All four of us cautiously headed towards the corridors, with Marnie deciding to follow as we walked through the empty academy. A metallic tang of blood lingered in the air, the kind of scent that clung to your skin and made it hard to breathe, think, and function.

My stomach twisted with dread, and I wasn’t prepared for what I saw next as we pushed through the hall doors.

The first body I saw was sprawled near the edge of the doorway, its shadow wings bent at unnatural angles as a pool of blood surrounded them.

Marnie gasped, her hand flying to her mouth. “Eriel.”

But it wasn’t just one Celestial.

More bodies were scattered across the hall, like fallen leaves. Celestials and Ascendants, young, older... so many of them lay there lifeless, their faces pale and their eyes empty.

Brandon swore under his breath. “It’s Norah.”

I whipped around and saw him looking down at Norah, her face pale as she stared at the ceiling with empty eyes.

Oh god...

Where was everyone else? Were the other younger Ascendants safe? Was Joe—

My heart dropped as my gaze locked on Nadael among the deceased.

She was at the center of the hall, her hand still gripping a staff, its light flickering weakly as though refusing to fade entirely.

I shook my head. “No...” The words slipped from my lips, but they were barely a whisper.

I stumbled forward, my legs trembling as I knelt beside her. Her usually stern face was soft now, her features peaceful in a way that made the reality of her like this even harder to grasp.

Marnie clutched Brandon’s arm for support while Silas knelt beside bodies, his usual sarcasm replaced by a grimace as he inspected the wounds and searched for the one person he hoped wouldn’t be here among the deceased.

Hunter came beside me, his knuckles turning white as they clenched at his side. “Looks like it was demons,” he said, and my blood turned to ash. “The barriers were weakening for a long time. They must have got in that way.”

I couldn’t even muster a response. This... this all happened while we were inside the glade. The whole academy was attacked, and we weren’t even here.

“Joe,” my voice cracked. “I need to find Joe.” I got up on unsteady legs, but Hunter caught me upright. “I need to—”

Hunter’s grip on my arm tightened, and I looked up at him, expecting the same determination I always saw in his eyes. Instead, I saw something dark and conflicting, like he was fighting some invisible battle I couldn’t see.

“Grace—” he started, but the words seemed to fail him.

“What?” I snapped, frustration and worry clawing its way through my chest. “What is it?”

He went to answer, but the words that came weren’t from him.

“You don’t need to go looking for him, Grace. He already took the pleasure upon himself to evacuate as many Ascendants out of here.”

I turned as Eden stepped into view. Her usual air of poise and smile were intact, but there was something different this time. It was colder, more ruthless.

Her gaze swept over us, looking almost amused. “Sorry, I missed the finale of the competition. Who won?”

My stomach twisted. “What—”

She chuckled, but it no longer sounded like the soft tone I was accustomed to.

“Right, my bad. You must all be so confused right now! Let me just set it all straight for you.” She stepped closer, her heels clicking against the bloodied ground.

“This attack, the demons breaching the walls, the deaths? It was my plan.’

This couldn’t be happening right now. “You... did this?”

Eden tilted her head, a smile tugging at the corner of her red-painted lips. “Well, not entirely. Let’s just say I gave the demons the opportunity they needed.”

“Why?” Brandon asked, glaring at her.

Eden’s eyes flicked to him, her smile faltering.

“Why? Because the Celestials are hypocrites. They preach virtue and justice, but all they do is destroy anything that doesn’t fit their perfect little narrative.

” She jerked her head up, raising her voice.

“But Joe knows that better than anyone, don’t you, Joe? ”

I frowned as Joe suddenly walked into the hall; his face grim as blood coated his shirt.

Despite it all, I was relieved to see him.

“Eden,” he said, his tone filled with an exhaustion I’d never heard from him before. “What have you done?”

Eden’s smile vanished, replaced by a sneer as she spun to face him. “What have I done? No, Joe. What did you do? You abandoned everything we believed in. You left me, left us , all to side with them!”

My mind was racing in all directions. All my thoughts weren’t processing, and I could only keep wondering, why, why, why?

“Eden... you wanted a world without rules just because you didn’t agree with the Council’s methods.”

“No, you didn’t agree either, and you knew that. But then, you ascended, and once Grace came into the picture, of course, you only cared about her, even going as far as to work with them .”

My head cut toward Joe, shock slamming right into me.

“The Council, even the Celestials, are using you, and now they’re using her.” she pointed at me, her eyes flashing with unrestrained anger. “They sent her into that competition to prove humans are worthless. You think they care about her? About you? You’re both just pawns to them. We all are.”

I jolted back in surprise.

They... sent me into that competition to prove I was worthless?

Hunter tensed beside me, and when I looked up at him, something a lot like guilt crossed his eyes.

Realization sunk in hard and fast.

He already knew that.

How...

“The Celestial system is broken,” Eden said, her voice sharp yet strangely weary. She let out a sigh, her expression cold and distant. “It’s just disappointing how useless that information was at the time when I let Malcolm into the academy.”

Her words struck me like a hammer, shattering everything around me. The room blurred, and her voice echoed endlessly in my mind, with each syllable carving deeper into my chest.

“What?” I whispered.

When Eden turned her head in my direction, sinister amusement danced in her eyes.

“You... you’re the one that let that demon in—the one that killed Lucas.”